Imagine my confusion when asked to jump with a girl wearing a "World Team" jumpsuit replete with the requisite patches. She told me it would be her "First hooked up 6-way exit." Hmmm... I think to myself. Now how'd she get so good and never do a six way exit? Tunnel rat? Turns out she had bought the suit and filled it out very nicely but sure didn't have the skills or experience the patches suggested she might possess. Rubbed me wrong in a way I guess but it probably shouldn't have. Lighten up Francis.

jon

I buy DZ tshirts for every DZ i visit, I WILL NOT wear one from a DZ i haven't been, Likewise I would not wear freefly tshirts until i could perform the maneuver they depictedDont advertise skills you dont posses or knowledge of places you haven't been

It seems like it's not cool to wear patches these days. I wonder when that will become fashionable again....things change

I wore my SCR and SCS with pride back in the early 70's. I really looked up to anyone who had a 16 way patch. I think the world record was under 30 back then. Most jumpers wore patches then, I was one of them.

I don't think I ever met anyone with a jump suit full of patches that they didn't earn. I'm sure it happened though.

I met a guy once who said he was a Green Beret in Vietnam. He then proceeded to tell me about a halo jump he made into combat, back in the 60's. This guy only had five jumps that he made in jump school.....no halo training.

I wonder if this ding dong was even airborne qualified. That was probably a lie too. No halo jumps were ever made in Vietnam in the 60's. This guy was full of it. I hate people like that.....He was one guy that I could picture walking around with a bunch of patches, that he never earned.

I took my SCS patch off my jumpsuit and sewed it onto my backpack (with break cord) when I went to Europe in 1972. I thought there was a chance to meet some European or British skydivers if they recognized the patch. Sadly, no one ever did but there weren't as many of us around back then. I hitch hiked from Houston to NYC and all over Europe and back without one comment. I was still proud to display it though.

You probably have an "Inn" patch somewhere, from jumping into the Inn at Orange, MA circa 1967. I still have my Inn patch for the jump into the Inn when my sister married Don Grant. I had an Inn mug also, was up on the shelf at the Inn with so many others. I wonder what happened to all those mugs when the Inn shut down...or did it?

You probably have an "Inn" patch somewhere, from jumping into the Inn at Orange, MA circa 1967. I still have my Inn patch for the jump into the Inn when my sister married Don Grant. I had an Inn mug also, was up on the shelf at the Inn with so many others. I wonder what happened to all those mugs when the Inn shut down...or did it?

You probably have an "Inn" patch somewhere, from jumping into the Inn at Orange, MA circa 1967. I still have my Inn patch for the jump into the Inn when my sister married Don Grant. I had an Inn mug also, was up on the shelf at the Inn with so many others. I wonder what happened to all those mugs when the Inn shut down...or did it?

You probably have an "Inn" patch somewhere, from jumping into the Inn at Orange, MA circa 1967. I still have my Inn patch for the jump into the Inn when my sister married Don Grant. I had an Inn mug also, was up on the shelf at the Inn with so many others. I wonder what happened to all those mugs when the Inn shut down...or did it?

From my experience real Army SF, Army Rangers, USCG Rescue Swimmers and USAF PJs don't bring it up right away. The wannabes and posers launch the conversation with it. I've heard a lot of party and bar talk by supposed ex military jumpers who obviously had never been under a canopy even once.

Speaking of patches conferring status, I got my SCR visiting Elsinore in the 70s. When I showed up at my home DZ wearing the patch the good RW guys thought I had stolen it. I "earned" it by letting a bunch of pros dock on me after a DC 3 exit.

I recognize Carl's Yosemite/El Cap patch on the upper left, but on the upper right you have a Yosemite patch with an outline of Half Dome that seems to have your same El Cap number on it. Was that one you made yourself, or what's with that? Just curious.

I've done some reading on this. If I read right, those recon missions involved insertion by helicopter prior to 1970. In 1970 the first halo missions were attempted in Vietnam. Correct me if I'm wrong ont this. Maybe I misread this....

I remember hearing some real scary stories of recon missions in Vietnam. One of the guys I trained with, said he didn't take his jungle boots off for weeks at a time, when they were out on a mission. He said one time an entire NVA company walked within feet of where they were hiding in the bushes. Real scary stuff....

I would have given my right arm to go through halo school, but never got it. Halo operations have come a long way since the early 70's (when I went through S. F. training).

The pictures posted with that article were interesting. The Uzi was considered top of the line, for a submachine gun, in the early 70's. A lot of guys loved their Car-15's.

Weapons have evolved a lot since those days. I imagine their are better weapons now.